Cyberpunk 2077 – Game won’t Launch – Failed to Start – How to fix

Cyberpunk 2077 Guides | September 29, 2022 | By

Cyberpunk 2077 won’t launch – A lot of PC users are complaining that Cyberpunk 2077 won’t launch for them. This guide will show you how to fix the launch issue or the “failed to start” issue.

Players are experiencing the “Game won’t launch” and “Failed to start” issue with Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is undoubtedly the biggest release of 2020 and you can easily tell by looking at the reviews from the community and the reviewers. The whole world is talking about this game.

But not everything is perfect at the moment. A lot of posts have started popping up on the cdprojektred forums. And most of these posts are about the bugs and errors that players are experiencing in the game at the moment. It looks like a lot of players are having difficulties at getting Cyberpunk to launch or start. For some, it could be because of the low powered hardware in their systems. But even people with really high end gaming rigs are facing this issue. So this problem has nothing to do with PC hardware.

Now the main question is, are there any fixes for this issue? You see, the problem is, it is hard say specifically what is causing this issue. There are plenty of things that could trigger startup issues. And the reason for the issue might vary from user to user. And if the issue is from the side of developers, then forget fixing it by yourself. Still, here are some potential fixes that you can try.

How to fix

Before you move further into the guide make sure you take a look at the minimum and recommended requirements of Cyberpunk 2077. And also download the drivers optimized for Cyberpunk 2077. You can check out the system requirements from here. Nvidia users can download the latest drivers from here or via GeForce Experience. AMD users can download the latest drivers from here.

Check for corrupted files and folders

You can use the verify/repair feature of Steam or Epic Games Launcher to repair the corrupted files or to download any missing files. Steam users can right-click on Cyberpunk from the Library, click on Properties and then select “Verify Integrity of Game files” for the Local Files Tab. Epic Games Launcher users can do the same thing by clicking on the three dots under Cyberpunk 2077 from their Library and then selecting the “Verify” option. The process will take some time so you have to be a bit patient.
Cyberpunk-verify-files

Are you sure that Cyberpunk is not conflicting with the Anti-virus on your System?

In some cases, the executable of Cyberpunk 2077 may be getting silently quarantined by some antivirus software, preventing the game from launching. Therefore you may need to disable Real-Time Scanning function or Real-Time Protection function of your Anti-virus to play. If you do not want to completely disable the software, then you will have to add the .exe of Cyberpunk 2077 and Steam on the Exceptions list of your AV Software.

If you are using Windows Defender instead of a third-party AV software then here is how to add Cyberpunk 2077 on the exceptions list of Windows Defender:

  1. Go to Windows 10 settings
  2. Click on Update & Security
  3. Select Windows Security from the left sidebar
  4. Click on Virus & threat protection
  5. Under Virus & threat protection click on Manage settings
  6. Under Exclusions click on Add or remove exclusions
  7. Click on Add an exclusion
  8. Select File
  9. Select the .exe or executable file of Cyberpunk 2077
  10. Restart your PC

Install the latest Microsoft Visual Studio

Also please try downloading and installing the latest version of Visual C++ redistributable, as there’s a chance it hasn’t been installed correctly.

Run the cyberpunk2077.exe directly as administrator

Avoid Steam for once and try to run the executable file or .exe file of Cyberpunk 2077 (cyberpunk2077.exe) as admin, directly from the installation directory. Here is how to do it:

  1. Go to the Installation folder of Cyberpunk 2077
  2. Right Click on cyberpunk2077.exe
  3. Go to Compatibility tab
  4. Check “Run this program as an administrator”

Other Tips

  • Please be sure to check you have an active and stable internet connection and that Steam and EGL is online.
  • Some of your PC files may have become corrupt. Please attempt to use the System File Checker to see if it can fix them.
  • Confirm that your Windows operating system is fully up-to-date. At this time, Cyberpunk runs best on Windows 10 64-bit. 32-bit operating systems are not supported.
  • You may have a conflict with your audio source or your sound card drivers. If you are using a headset or external speakers, then try unplugging them temporarily.

And finally, if none of the fixes mentioned above work for you then there is no other choice but to re-install the game completely. We are still testing the game. More fixes on the way!

I would suggest that you take a look at the official Cyberpunk 2077 Forums. You will find a lot of players discussing about these exact same issues.

If you think this guide had helped you then let us know in the comment section below. And for more Cyberpunk guides, keep an eye on Frondtech. We will be covering every single technical issue and bug of the game. Good luck!

That’s all folks!

Last Updated on September 29, 2022